Numerical modeling of the runway deicing products performance on aircraft runways

Abstract

Ice-covered runways increase accident risk by making surfaces slippery. In aviation, deicing runways is essential to ensure safe takeoffs and landings. However, excessive deicing chemical use raises environmental concerns. Developing a mathematical model can help to reduce chemical usage. Current 0D models primarily rely on constant empirical melting rates for road pavements, lacking the precision needed for runway conditions. This research presents a onedimensional model to estimate runway ice melting rates and surface temperatures based on deicer quantity and environmental conditions. The Runway Deicing model employs the twophase Stefan problem, modified to account for non-uniform deicer concentration, governed by Fick’s law for mass diffusion. The enthalpy method was adopted for phase change with variable melting temperatures, using a finite volume approach to solve the model explicitly. Verification was performed through comparison with the Neumann similarity solution, confirming the Runway Deicing Model’s accuracy in predicting temperature and melting front location. With deicers, the model predicted key parameters like surface temperature, melting front, and concentration gradients, verifying its performance by capturing expected behaviors like the temperature-concentration relationship according to the liquidus curve. Model validation was based on controlled ice melting experiments following AS6170 standards. Deicing solutions at -2°C and -10°C were applied to ice samples. At -2°C, the model’s temperature prediction error was 0.9% for KFO (Potassium formate) and 0.88% for KAC (Potassium acetate), with the mass prediction discrepancies of 15% for KFO and 11% for KAC at 5 minutes, stabilizing over time. At -10°C, temperature error was 1.2% for both deicers, with the mass errors of 11.8% for KFO and 16% for KAC. The parametric study examined the effects of variables such as the heat convection coefficient, initial deicer thickness, and melting temperature. Under runway-specific conditions, KAC achieved a higher melting rate than KFO across temperature scenarios. Additionally, reapplication frequency was tested and the results showed that larger, less frequent applications melted slightly more ice, enhancing deicing efficiency on runways.

Date	16 Jan 2025
Original language	American English
Awarding Institution	École de technologie supérieure
Supervisor	François Morency (Supervisor) & Gelareh Momen (Co-supervisor)